In the real world, small samples of information that fit with and within information we already possess, seem to give us the best chance of making accurate decisions.

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My Precis Expanded (a summary of the original article):

As a newborn infant, we immediately begin to affect regular habits in order to survive. Learning to recognize action and reaction, movement and sound, helps us to quickly and consistently learn. As we begin to recognize meaning in a statement we begin to combine statements where one makes the other true. How obvious a statement is will depend on education and background.

Our short-term memories hold only a very limited number of “pieces” of information at one time, usually no more than six or eight. So, when a variable changes (when something happens), it amplifies the constants (and our understanding) of the world. Positively correlated events and a limited short-term working memory work together to help us to learn, especially when we are children and learning a first (native) language. An ability to detect positive correlations may help us to detect irregularities, even if we sometimes detect false correlations or set off false alarms.

In studies, inaccurate assumptions or perceptions interfere with our ability to connect events that really do go together and even scientists can overestimate significant relationships when they are dealing with small representative groups. There is a gamblers fallacy that states that a run of something (good or bad) will correct itself and that the odds will eventually even up. However, any random sequence, with the same variables, has an equal chance of being repeated. The ability to recognize positive correlations rises as working memory capacity declines. One study selected groups on the basis of their working memory capacity and found that the high capacity group chose the fewest false correlations but also the fewest positive correlations.

When looking at real world situations, small samples seem to allow us the best chance to make an accurately correlated decision based on available information and findings in studies show that limited knowledge can aid us in reaching decisions in uncertain circumstances. That built-in ‘amplifier’ locating positive correlations that seems to help infants to put together speech sounds and learn language suggests that the adult mind is designed to locate positive correlations and filter out the background noise.

JSTOR is in the process of ‘freeing up’ some of their journals so that we can borrow the older articles to read. I am hoping that this might soon be one of those journals….. If you have any trouble locating the article please contact me or, call your local college or university library for assistance.

We know that pollution is being carried to the Arctic by wind and tides and now we also know, through scientific investigation and the testing of lake water, that pollution is carried into the Arctic by migrating birds.

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My Precis Expanded:

Arctic lakes that are used by birds such as Northern Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) have been found to contain higher concentrations of toxins such as mercury, DDT, and hexachlorobenzen (HCB) than lakes with lower bird populations. To determine the extent that birds are bringing pollution with them, eleven Arctic lakes, located both near and at a distance from, nesting sites were tested for chemical pollutants. Some of these lakes were found to have very high mercury concentrations.

Birds eating contaminated prey or carrion become contaminated themselves as chemicals such as HCB, DDT and PCBs collect in an animal’s fatty tissues. These chemicals then pass on to other predators when the contaminated meat is eaten. Indigenous peoples living in the Arctic and relying on game for food are eating contaminated animals. “Mercury and PCBs can cause immune system dysfunction, adverse neurological effects and IQ deficits.”

Wind and sea currents are major sources of pollution in the Arctic. The best way to fix this problem is to prevent more contamination “from entering the environment in the first place.”

I want to explain this precis a little bit before you read it. I have struggled with this one. The article is the story of an archaeological site that became a museum. It is only one of a multitude of post-WWII stories.

At Toro, it wasn’t actually history that was reworked, it was pre-history. What was done was to rediscover a people that had been there 2,000 years before and to give the people of post-WWII something to work towards and to live for.

There was a conscious decision made, to either rewrite or abandon certain aspects of history and prehistory and to take only the positive and politically correct bits of Toro’s prehistory and fold them into a past that could bring Japan together as a community. The true story of the Yayoi people of Toro is not in this article nor is it likely to be found in the museum at Toro. The true story of Toro may not ever be found as the site was completely excavated and used to help bring together the broken pieces of a post-WWII society. It was one of many ways chosen to reestablish a place in the world for Japan and the Japanese after World War II.

I have tried very hard not to put my thoughts into the writing of this summary. Thoughts formed from this story belong in the discussion. Whether you agree or disagree with my thoughts, my writing, or the writing of Walter Edwards, I welcome your comments…

The reworking of history is not a new idea, it is an idea that works. Using only the most acceptable and positive aspects of tradition and culture, the history found at the archaeological site of Toro was reworked to give a sense of hope and belonging to the devastated people of postwar Japan.

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My Precis Expanded:

In July of 1947 archaeologists and supporters gathered for the ground-breaking ceremony at the Toro archaeological site. The end of WWII had taken a toll on the people of Japan. Her Emperor had lost the status of an immortal God and the country had been devastated. The excavation at Toro was seen as a way of bringing the people together as a community with a new found sense of history, belonging and community.

During WWII, the Toro site was a paddy field designated to be the site of a proposed propeller factory. An excavation of fill to raise and level the building site uncovered pottery, wooden stakes and utensils. These were taken to a nearby school where the educational value was recognized and work began to turn the site away from industrial use. In August of 1943, an emergency excavation uncovered a Yayoi agricultural settlement complete with buildings and an irrigation system. Then, in June of 1945, the unfinished propeller factory and the surrounding area were razed by an incendiary bombing strike. Most of the excavated finds were lost in the fires.

After the war, the archaeologists were ready to go back and salvage what was left. In the fall of 1946, a committee of scholars, professionals, and specialists, for the investigation of the Toro site was formed, a plan was put together, permissions were granted and work began in July of 1947. With shortages of everything, including food and money, volunteer students uncovered eight thatched roof dwellings. Wood, especially cedar, was found to be the most common material used for everyday items. Plates, bowls, spoons, fire starting kits, chairs, and sandals were found. Agricultural tools such as hoes and rakes were made of hard woods. Iron, for blades for carving knives and other implements, appeared to have been plentiful but the acidic, wet soil conditions left no traces of metal.

With the finds at Toro in hand, the head archaeologist painted a picture of a peaceful and prosperous village site. Newspaper articles kept the people of Japan appraised of the progress and letters from well-wishers were an inspiration to the volunteers. At the end of the first summer, the government pledged its support for the following years and an exhibition was opened at the Tokyo National Museum. Four years of excavation and 4.5 million yen saw the entire site excavated, preserved, and sections rebuilt and formed into a park.

Literature, folk tales and sociology had been starting to combine in pre-war Japan and the foundation of change had begun. The committee that was in charge of the excavation of Toro was also in charge of a site of unification of Japanese historic culture. Toro and the professional development of its history were providing material proof of an unknown cultural history.

Japan of the Yayoi was characterized as being similar to modern Japan. The rice paddies were neat, the dykes carefully built, the tools similar to those in common use just a few decades ago. This agricultural ethic fundamentally supported the emperor system while the Emperor was busy turning public eyes away from government and towards the remaking of history. In a nation caught up in all-encompassing western reform, the idea of a history of uniqueness was something to hold onto while everything changed. The idea was simply to take only the positive history that could help bring the people of Japan together and give it to them to use.

These were times of crisis and this was medicine that had worked before, in other times, for other cultures. Post-war Japan was glossing over its militaristic history and equipping the new “culture” with hoes, spades, and a peaceful and prosperous past. The logic used to turn Japan from a warring nation to a peaceful one was the logic of “community.”

The swing from a defeated nation to strong economic success and national identity was not accomplished by any one person, group or project alone. It was the effort of an entire community with strong leadership from the government to the educators. Even though history was reworked using only images that were of an acceptable form, the Japanese have never truly abandoned the rest of their heritage and have held onto their sense of national identity. What happened at Toro was that a nation came together as a community to remake their history and to press “an aspect” of tradition into service. This service would change the direction of the cultural identity of Japan.

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I found the original article through a journal search using JSTOR. You can find the full article here in a “read online” format:

A Precis is a form of summary that is most often used to summarize works of non-fiction and speeches. A precis is original writing. It does not contain any of the precis author’s own thoughts but rather, summarizes someone else’s writing using the precis author’s own words. There is no (or very little) quoting.

A precis is not the precis writer’s ideas about the original work. Those thoughts and ideas belong in discussion, later. A precis should be written in as precise a manner as possible. A precis is the basic thesis of the original work, less the details, summarized.

How to Write A Precis

I find that starting with something I am unfamiliar with is easier. I can concentrate more on what the author is saying and less on whether or not I agree with what the author is saying.

So, find a piece of non-fiction writing. Start at the beginning with the first paragraph, what is the author telling you? Summarize this paragraph into about one sentence. Go to the next paragraph….

If you are writing a precise on an article — peer-reviewed, newspaper, blog, etc. — or speech, the writing that you are summarizing probably doesn’t have many paragraphs. A book just takes longer!

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When you have summarized each paragraph, combine your writing by combining the sentences into a paragraph or, several paragraphs, and edit!

When you have a paragraph or paragraphs that make sense, repeat the process. Again, summarize your writing into one or more sentences. Go back to making paragraph(s) and repeat until you have only a clear and concise summary remaining. It may be as little as a single sentence or your summary may require a few paragraphs. This is your precis.

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Clear and concise is the most important part of this process. Eliminate all repetition and unnecessary words (but not until you have it all in your original set of sentences). You need to understand and summarize everything from the original writing!

Following through the process can surprise you. Preconceived ideas about what the unsummarized writing is about, may disappear when we have thoroughly read and understood what was written…..